How to Fish WikiFor How to Fish 1.1.3
Pufferfish

Pufferfish Boss: Carrot, Fight and Fin

The longest early fight (18,000 health): trade an endangered fish for the Carrot, then circle palm trees with an SMG until the swollen boss jams between them.

BossDesert (Island 3)
Checked against How to Fish 1.1.3
Summon itemCarrot (from the tourist for an endangered creature)
Health18000 (Normal; Easy 75%, Hard 125%)
Recommended weaponsSMG ($650) with Extended Mag and bullet upgrades; an upgraded Shotgun also works
Next stepHand the fin to the tourist for the coordinates of Island 4.

How to summon the Pufferfish boss

The tourist in the yellow life jacket trades the Carrot, the Pufferfish's only bait, for one endangered creature.

  1. Buy Standard Lures ($15) and fish until you land a Needlefish (10.5% of bites), Seahorse or Bowlfish (4% each).
  2. Kill it and check for "Endangered Species" in the kill score; a drip version does not count.
  3. Throw it to the tourist with Q and take the Carrot.
  4. Optional but useful: throw a few lit Dynamite sticks into the water so dead fish float near the beach as mid-fight food.
  5. Fit the Carrot on the long Fishing Rod, cast, reel in and drop the boss on the sand.

How to beat the Pufferfish boss

It starts small and fast, swells as it takes damage and changes once at half health.

  1. Circle two close palm trees, or a palm and a rock, while firing; while small it slips through gaps.
  2. Keep shooting: each hit makes it bigger until it wedges itself between the trunks and stays stuck.
  3. Empty the SMG into it while it is stuck.
  4. At about half health it shrinks again and leaves a purple poison trail; widen your circle and watch the ground.
  5. Eat floating fish when your health drops, and keep an eye on the escape bar under its health.

How to kill the Pufferfish solo or in co-op

Solo, the tree trap does most of the work: once it is large, it stays stuck long enough to empty a full magazine.

In co-op every extra player raises its health, but several guns on a stuck Pufferfish end the long second phase much faster.

SMG kit for the Pufferfish

The SMG ($650) with the Extended Mag ($320), the Compensator ($600) and every bullet upgrade the kiosk sells is the standard kit; an upgraded Shotgun also works.

Buy it before the Blue Shark: the same kit kills the shark that unlocks the grill.

A big Dynamite pile on open sand is an expensive emergency option; one player report credits about 25 sticks with half its health.

Pufferfish health

The Pufferfish has 18,000 health on Normal (75% on Easy, 125% on Hard), even after the nerf in patch 1.0.4.

What to do after the Pufferfish boss

It breaks into meat chunks ($200 each, about $300 cooked) and one small Pufferfish Fin from the tail; the fin is easy to lose in the sand.

Give the fin to the tourist for the flash drive to Island 4; for most players the new red Radar dot lies behind the kiosk.